“No, who?”
“Martin Sheen! Who is nowPresident!”
“President Josiah Bartlet!”
“PresidentJedBartlet.”
“What goes around, comes around.”
“What’shis aide’s name?”
“Who cares?” Parker asked.
“He might be President one day.”
“Fredric March was a good President, too,” Byrnes suggested.
“Who’s Fredric March?” Kling asked.
“Seven Days in May.”
“Never heard of it.”
“Or Henry Fonda,” Byrnes said. “InFail-Safe.”
“That was the same movie, wasn’t it?” Brown asked.
“It onlyseemed like the same movie,” Hawes said.
“Who’s Henry Fonda?” Kling asked.
“How about Kevin Kline?” Willis asked.
“Yes, he was a very good President,” Meyer said solemnly.
“He was also this guy wholooked like the President.”
“Dave.”
“That was the name of the movie.Dave.”
“It was also the name of the lookalike. Dave Kovic.”
“Because thereal President had a stroke while fucking his secretary. I saw that movie,” Parker said. “This sexy broad.”
“Yeah,” Willis said, remembering.
“Yeah,” Brown said, nodding.
They all had another bagel.
“But you know who was thebest actor?” Meyer asked. “Who ever played the President?”
“Who?” Kling said.
“Ronald Reagan.”
“Oh yes,” Kling said.
“Yes,” Hawes agreed.
“Unquestionably,” Byrnes said.
What’s the use? Carella thought, and took a bagel from the tray.
THE CALL FROM Carella’s sister came at a little before ten that Friday morning. The surveillance equipment from the Tech Unit had already arrived. Across the room, Meyer Meyer was helping Fat Ollie Weeks tape the battery-powered recorder to Tito Gomez’s chest.
“Who’s gonna be on the other end of this?” Tigo asked.
“Nobody,” Ollie said. “It ain’t a transmitter, it’s a recorder.”
“Then who’s gonna come save my ass if Wiggy tips?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Meyer said.
“I worry,” Tigo said.
On the telephone, Angela was asking Carella if he could come to Mama’s house tonight after work.
“Why?” Carella said.
“We want to talk to you.”
“We’re talking right now,” Carella said.
“You’re at work and so am I.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
“We’ll tell you when you get here.”
“I’m working a homicide, I may not get out of here till late,” he said.
“That’s okay, we’ll wait.”
“What is it, Angela?”
“A surprise,” she said.
“I’m a cop,” he said. “I hate surprises.”
“I’m leaving early today. Can you get to Riverhead by five?”
“Only if I’m out of here by four.”
“Whenever,” she said. “I’ll see you later.”
He put the receiver back on its base and walked across the room to where Tigo was complaining that the tapes were too tight.
“You don’t want the gadget rattling around, do you?” Ollie asked.
“I don’t want the gadget, period,” Tigo said.
“It’ll save you a lot of time upstate,” Meyer said.
“Ifhe says anything.”
“That’s your job,” Carella said. “To get him talking.”
“He’s not so fuckin dumb, you know. I start talkin about that night, he’s gonna wonder why.”
“Make it sound casual,” Meyer suggested.
“Sure. Hey, Wiggy, remember the night you shot that dude in the back of his head and dropped him in a garbage can? Boy, that was fun, wasn’t it?”
“Do it over a few drinks,” Carella suggested.
“Sure. Have another beer, Wiggy. Remember the night you shot that dude in the back of …”
“Just play it cool,” Meyer said. “Don’t even think about the wire. Make believe you’re two guys shootin the breeze.”
“Sure.”
“The mike’s right here,” Ollie said. “It looks like a button on your shirt.”
“Suppose hespots the fuckin thing?”
“He won’t.”
“Butifhe does.”
“Don’t worry, he won’t be thinking about a wire.”
“What if hestarts thinking about a wire? This man can become very violent. He is not called Wiggy the Lid for no reason.”
“Just tell him you work for a record company,” Meyer said.
“Tell him you’re a talent scout for Motown,” Ollie said. “Tuck your shirt in your pants.”
Tigo tucked in his shirt.
He turned to face the cops.
“How do I look?” he asked.
He looked extremely worried.
“You look great,” Meyer said.
Kling came over from across the room.
“You’re wearing a wire, right?” he said.
“Yeah,” Tigo said. “Why?”
“I never would’ve guessed,” Kling said.
HALLOWAY TOLD THEM he would have to call their treasurer. Wiggy asked what his name was.
“Her,” Halloway said. “Her name is Susan.”
Susan was a code word. The moment whoever answered the phone heard the name “Susan,” he or she would know there was trouble.
“Make sure you talk to her and her alone,” Wiggy said. “Give me the number. I’ll dial it.”
The clock on the wall read ten minutes past ten.
Halloway wrote the number on a slip of paper. Wiggy looked at it as he dialed. The instant he heard it ringing on the other end, he handed the receiver to Halloway and picked up an extension phone. The phone rang once, twice …
“Hello?”
A woman’s voice.
“Susan?” Halloway said.
“Yes?”
“This is Dick Halloway. Happy New Year.”
“Thank you, Dick,” she said. “Same to you.”
His use of the familiar diminutive told her he was not alone. If Karen Andersen had announced herself as Karey, or David Good as Davey, it would have meant the same thing. By repeating the diminutive, the woman on the other end of the line was telling Halloway she understood he had company.